SUNY Maritime College - Eight Bells Yearbook (Bronx, NY)

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EMPIRE STA TE III 1956-1960 The USS. Mercy was launched on March 25, 1943 and con- verted to a modern hospital ship. She was 416 feet in length, 60 feet beam with a designed speed of 15.3 knots. The Mercy was manned by Navy personnel and staffed by US. Army medical personnel. She participated in Leyte, Philip- pine lslands landings Oct. 22 to Dec. 16, 1944 and in the assault and occupation ot Okinawa, April 19-May 17, 1945. The Mercy served as a hospital ship until May 17, 1946 when she was decommissioned and turned over to the US. Army where she served with the Army Transport Service until Feb. 1950 when she was laid up by the Maritime Administration in its reserve fleet in the James River. On May 23, 1956 Marad turned the vessel over to the Maritime College as a training vessel and renamed Empire State lll and as such was used for summer training cruises until 1960.

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an -. 1 . ' 1 ?fh 3gef rz'se sf: The EMPIRE STATE IV is the former USNS HENRY GIRBINS of the Military Sea Transport Service. Built in lngall's Shipyards, Pascagoula, Miss., she served as a troop transport during World War ll and on MSTS routes until assigned to the State University Maritime College in December 1959. The modified C-3 has accommodations for 340 cabin pas- sengers and 740 troops. The 12,000 ton ship is 489 teet in length with a beam ot 69 feet. l-ler geared steam turbine devel- ops 8500 horsepower at a cruising speed of 16 knots. Aboard the EMPIRE STATE IV are facilities for laboratory ses- sions and marlinspike seamanship, marine engineering, com- munications, and electronic aids to navigation as well as a recently installed meteorology and oceanography laboratory. The EMPIRE STATE IV was originally named in honor of Major General Henry Gibbins, the late Quartermaster General ofthe Army. She was delivered to the War Department in Febru- ary 1943 and senfed as a troop transport during World War ll. She was converted into a passenger ship in 1946-47 and car- ried many ot the War Brides from Europe to join their hus- bands in the United States. 9 'tl EMPIRE STATEIV 1960-1973 I I I .3 Eg, l 'Q I Mwhfag.,-.g-1 f 5 Q A sf' i. , A I b 4 ' ' - gi ll? N V . L QT ' ' 1 . N - 1 3 . Eg -- I 5 4 ' ,R . :X N A A :Ml . K 3' if i ' ' L X f ' ,N v. A 2... 'hm 1 t